Human migration out of Africa may have followed monsoons in the Middle East

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 26, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Early Humans, Earth Science, Israel, Jordan, Middle East, Palaeoclimate, Palestine, Syria

Last year, scientists announced that a human jawbone and prehistoric tools found in 2002 in Misliya Cave, on the western edge of Israel, were between 177,000 and 194,000 years old.

Ian Orland at Soreq Cave, Israel, where some calcite cave formations are 185,000 years old [Credit: Ian Orland]

The finding suggested that modern humans, who originated in Africa, began migrating out of the continent at least 40,000 years earlier than scientists previously thought.

But the story of how and when modern humans originated and spread throughout the world is still in draft form. That's because science hasn't settled how many times modern humans left Africa, or just how many routes they may have taken.

A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by American and Israeli geoscientists and climatologists provides evidence that summer monsoons from Asia and Africa may have reached into the Middle East for periods of time going back at least 125,000 years, providing suitable corridors for human migration.

The likely timing of these northward monsoon expansions corresponds with cyclical changes in Earth's orbit that would have brought the Northern Hemisphere closer to the sun and led to increased summer precipitation. With increased summer precipitation there may have been increased vegetation, supporting animal and human migration into the region.

"It could be important context for experts studying how, why, and when early modern humans were migrating out of Africa," says lead author Ian Orland, a University of Wisconsin-Madison geoscientist now at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, in the Division of Extension. "The Eastern Mediterranean was a critical bottleneck for that route out of Africa and if our suggestion is right, at 125,000 years ago and potentially at other periods, there may have been more consistent rainfall on a year-round basis that might enhance the ability of humans to migrate."

For as long as humans have kept records, winters have been wet and summers have been hot and dry in the Levant, a region that includes Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. Before modern times, those hot, dry summers would have presented a significant barrier to people trying to move across the landscape.

Scientists, though, have found it difficult to determine what kinds of precipitation patterns might have existed in the prehistoric Levant. Some studies examining a variety of evidence, including pollen records, ancient lake beds, and Dead Sea sediments, along with some climate modeling studies, indicate summers in the region may have, on occasion, been wet.

To try to better understand this seasonality, Orland and colleagues looked at cave formations called speleothems in Israel's Soreq Cave. Speleothems, such as stalactites and stalagmites, form when water drips into a cave and deposits a hard mineral called calcite. The water contains chemical fingerprints called isotopes that keep a record, like an archive, of the timing and environmental conditions under which speleothems have grown.

Among these isotopes are different forms of oxygen molecules -- a light form called O16 and a heavy form called O18. Today, the water contributing to speleothem growth throughout much of the year has both heavy and light oxygen, with the light oxygen predominantly delivered by rainstorms during the winter wet season.

Orland and his colleagues hypothesized they might be able to discern from speleothems whether two rainy seasons had contributed to their growth at times in the past because they might show a similar signature of light oxygen in both winter and summer growth.

But to make this comparison, the scientists had to make isotope measurements across single growth bands, which are narrower than a human hair. Using a sensitive instrument in the UW-Madison Department of Geoscience called an ion microprobe, the team measured the relative amounts of light and heavy oxygen at seasonal increments across the growth bands of two 125,000-year-old speleothems from Soreq Cave.

This was the first time that seasonal changes were directly measured in a speleothem this old.

At the same time that Orland was in pursuit of geologic answers, his UW-Madison colleague in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Center for Climatic Research, Feng He, was independently using climate models to examine how vegetation on the planet has changed with seasonal fluctuations over the last 800,000 years. Colleagues since graduate school, He and Orland teamed up to combine their respective approaches after learning their studies were complementary.

A previous study in 2014 from UW-Madison climatologist and Professor Emeritus John Kutzbach showed that the Middle East may have been warmer and wetter than usual during two periods of time corresponding roughly to 125,000 years ago and 105,000 years ago. Meanwhile, at a point in between, 115,000 years ago, conditions there were more similar to today.

The wetter time periods corresponded to peak summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere, when Earth passes closer to the sun due to subtle changes in its orbit. The drier time period corresponded to one of its farthest orbits from the sun. Monsoon seasons tend to be stronger during peak insolation.

This provided He an opportunity to study high and low insolation rainfall during summer seasons in the Middle East and to study its isotopic signatures.

The climate model "fueled the summer monsoon hypothesis" because it suggested that "under these conditions, the monsoons could have reached the Middle East and would have a low O18 signature," He, a study co-author, says. "It's a very intriguing period in terms of climate and human evolution."

His model showed that northward expansion of the African and Asian summer monsoons was possible during this time period, would have brought significant rainfall to the Levant in the summer months, would have nearly doubled annual precipitation in the region, and would have left an oxygen isotope signature similar to winter rains.

At the same time, Orland's speleothem isotype analysis also suggested summers were rainier during peak insolation at 125,000 and 105,000 years ago.

For similar reasons, the Middle East may have also been warm and humid around 176,000 years ago, the researchers say -- about when the jawbone made its way to Misliya Cave. And before the jawbone, the previous oldest modern human fossils found outside of Africa were at Israel's Skh?l Cave, dating back between 80,000 and 120,000 years ago.

Overall, the study suggests that during a period of time when humans and their ancestors were exploring beyond the African continent, conditions may have been favorable for them to traverse the Levant.

"Human migration out of Africa occurred in pulses, which is definitely consistent with our idea that every time the Earth is closer to the sun, the summer monsoon is stronger and that's the climatic window that opened and provided opportunities for human migration out of Africa," says He.

Author: Kelly April Tyrrell | Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison [November 26, 2019]

Advanced imaging reveals ancient pottery inscriptions

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 27, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

A Columbian College of Arts and Sciences professor is using cutting-edge imaging technology to decipher the inscriptions on fragments of broken pottery excavated more than 50 years ago in Jordan. The fragments, long thought to be lost, were recently rediscovered.

Chris Rollston, associate professor of northwest Semitic languages and literature, examines ostraca. He is using multispectral imaging to examine the pieces and their faded ink writing more closely [Credit: Harrison Jones/GW Today]

The fragments, called ostraca, were discovered at the site of Machaerus, a well-known archaeological site connected with notable historical and religious figures of the first century including Herod the Great and John the Baptist. Chris Rollston, associate professor of northwest Semitic languages and literature, took possession of 20 ostraca in May and used multispectral imaging equipment at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences to examine the pieces and their faded ink writing more closely.

Multispectral images capture data from multiple wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum and provide details the eye cannot see. Dr. Rollston believes at least 19 of the 20 pieces he is studying contain writing.

"The ink is carbon-based and was made, in part, using ancient ash. Some of the ink is really clear, but some of it is faded," he said. "Multispectral imaging is capable of enhancing the ink so that one can read it more readily. During the past five to 10 years, multispectral imaging has really been front and center in the decipherment of ancient writings made with ink."

Before these ostraca became a useful window to the past, they were pieces of household pottery used to hold water, food and other goods. When they broke, they were repurposed and transformed into "the post-it notes of antiquity," Dr. Rollston said.

Ostraca were used to write down temporarily important, but not memorable, information, such as what kind of supplies needed restocked after a battle— an ancient grocery list. If the people of Levant knew scholars today were pouring over ostraca, they would be a little perplexed, Dr. Rollston said.

The important writings were typically made on papyrus and animal skin, which largely disintegrated over time due to the environmental conditions near the Mediterranian Sea and have been lost. There are a few exceptions, such as the well-preserved Dead Sea Scrolls, but ancient papyrus generally fared better in drier climates like Egypt.

The ostraca Dr. Rollston is studying now were excavated in 1968 by E. Jerry Vardaman, the founding director of Mississippi State's Cobb Institute of Archaeology. The pieces, thought to be lost, were recently discovered by the late Dr. Vardaman's wife and researcher Marylinda Govaars. The Cobb Institute took possession of these items, contacted Dr. Rollston about interpreting the Aramaic and Greek inscriptions and gave him permission to conduct research and publish the ostraca.

Multispectral images capture data from multiple wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum. These images can provide a sharper view of the faded ink writing on ostraca [Credit: Harrison Jones/GW Today]

Dr. Govaars, a researcher from Texas who has worked closely with Dr. Vardaman's collection, is analyzing the archeological context of these nearly 2,000-year-old ostraca. Dr. Rollston and Dr. Govaars plan to publish a journal article on the pieces next year.

While the ostraca are brief, Dr. Rollston believes they could include information that could help researchers better understand cultural practices in the first century. He believes some of the ostraca written in Aramaic include the names and titles of Jewish soldiers who served during the First Jewish Revolt. This would shed light on naming practices of the time and provide insight on a significant time in Jewish history.

"It's difficult to know exactly when these inscriptions were written, but my sense is they were written sometime during the decade or two right prior to fall of Judaea to the Romans," he said. "These are inscriptions from this really pivotal period in what we know as ancient Judaea."

While ostraca themselves contain mostly trivial information, experts are able to gain insight into the past when they can connect the pieces with the context in which they were found. If ostraca are removed from their archeological site and where they came from is not recorded, the significance of their inscriptions is muted.

Dr. Rollston is currently working on a book about writing and scribal practices in Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity, and he plans to incorporate what he learns from these ostraca. When he completes his work, he will return the pieces to the Cobb Institute.

Dr. Rollston said being able to bring these items to GW to study has had a huge impact on this project. He's been able to foster new collaborations with faculty members like Narine Sarvazyan, SMHS professor of pharmacology and physiology, who has allowed him to use imaging equipment in her lab. He's also connected with School of Engineering and Applied Science Professor Murray Loew, an expert in Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), a computational photographic method that captures an object and enables researchers to re-light that item from any direction.

There is a particular helpfulness and camaraderie among colleagues to share expertise and develop new ideas, Dr. Rollston said.

"I don't have to search far and wide for some place or some people in the U.S. who are capable of doing this sort of imaging," he said. "They're right here, and there's something quite nice about that as well, to simply turn to the GW community and work together with them."

Author: Kristen Mitchell | Source: George Washington University [September 27, 2019]

Inscriptions offer clues to Nabataeans’ social, political relations

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 12, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

Ancient inscriptions found in the Eastern Desert reveal relations between Nabateans and bedouin tribes and depict daily life as well as major political events, wars and revolts, said a Jordanian scholar.

Inscription found in eastern Jordan reads: ‘By Aqraban, son of Kasit, son of Saad, the beautiful woman, playing the reed pipes’, circa 100 BC to 100 AD [Credit: Jordan Museum]

The 16 Safaitic (old Arabic used in southern Syria and northern Arabia) and Nabataean inscriptions were discovered in 2017, said Professor Younis Shdaifat from Mutah University in a recent interview with The Jordan Times, adding that there are many references to the Nabataeans in the inscriptions, dating between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD.

“In light of the available evidence, it seems that Safaitic and Thamudic tribes lived alongside the Nabataeans and interacted with them politically, socially and economically,” Shdaifat elaborated, noting that a considerable number of these tribes constituted a component of the diverse population that was ruled by the Nabataean kings.

The royal family ruled from Petra while civil and military officials had been appointed to control other territories of the realm, according to the scholar.

“A form of federation existed between the capital in Petra and chiefs of these tribes,” Shdaifat said, adding that the Nabataeans might have made treaties with the bedouin tribes to consolidate sovereignty over the fringes of Nabataea or even parts of the urban centres.

Safaitic inscription with a drawing depicting warriors in a fight scene [Credit: Haupt & Binder/Jordan Museum]

According to David Graf, an American expert in Nabataean history, these tribes must have “had intimate connections with the Nabataean realm” with some of them even being involved in the Nabataean military and political actions, the professor explained.

“One of these inscriptions is dated to the year ‘in which the Nabataeans passed by’ while another inscription refers to a man who was ‘on the look-out for Nabataeans’,” Shdaifat noted.

Further significant events like the year when Nabataeans revolted against the Roman Empire are mentioned in the inscriptions, he continued, noting that other inscriptions refer to important Nabataean historical events such as the arrival of Syllaius from Rome and the year in which Obodas died.

The reference to the Nabataeans in these inscriptions shows the close social and political relations between the Nabataeans, the city-dwellers and the nomads of eastern Jordan, the scholar said.

One group of the texts in the inscriptions that were found is Nabataean and it includes three graffiti, two of which were written according to the Safaitic style of writing texts, while the third one is typically Aramaic, he emphasised.

The inscriptions are important, giving evidence about the Nabataeans but also about the bedouins, who were very much aware of regional and international actors in that period of Middle Eastern history, Shdaifat said.

Author: Saeb Rawashdeh | Source: The Jordan Times [September 12, 2019]

Archaeologists re-erect three arches of Ghor Safi medieval sugar cane processing factory in Jordan

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 06, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

Extracting juice from sugar cane has its origin in southeast Asia over 2,000 years ago, however, the sugar production became a monopoly of Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers (12th -15th centuries) in the Jordan Valley.

Two scholars managed to re-erect three arches of the Ghor Safi sugar factory in the spring of 2019. It is the initial  step to reconstruct the mediaeval sugar factory in the Dead Sea area [Credit: Ulrich Bellwald]

Sugar production dominated Ghor Safi, a town known as Zoara in the Old Testament, which was located on the southeastern edge of the Dead Sea.

Konstantinos Politis, an experienced Greek archaeologist, has worked in Ghor Safi on ancient sugar mills for many years and in the spring of 2019 he teamed up with a Swiss researcher Ulrich Bellwald.

The two scholars and their team erected three arches out of 12 that form two rows of the sugar mill, Politis said, noting that the area was used for sugar processing and was kept as clean as possible.

“Politis was the one who excavated these arches and then he approached me to ask me to assist him in developing the monument presentation project,” Bellwald explained, adding that the problem is that people don’t realize that there was a very sophisticated sugar factory where the molasses processed.

View of the roller presses at Ghor as-Safi [Credit: Al-Hima]

“We decided to re-erect three of arches which once supported the roof of the factory in order to give the first impression of the space and at the end when we have funds for presentation of monument these arches with others will support the roof; therefore Politis will be able to show the complete structure and present the complete process of the sugar production,” Bellwald stressed.

Regarding the style of arches, they vary slightly but were all pointed at the top, which is typical for Islamic and Crusader periods as opposed to rounded (the Roman and Byzantine forms), Politis noted.

According to Bellwald, arches (built of sandstone blocks) date from 13th century (Mamluk period) as these sugar factories were built upon the initiative of sultan who resided in Damascus, where collected sugar produced in Ghor Safi was sent to.

“What was interesting was that not two arches were with the same dimensions. But as they support the roof, the top of this pointed arches had to be the of same dimensions, which means that vaulting of arches was never the same,” Bellwald explained.

Illustration of proposed reconstruction of the sugar processing plant at Ghor as-Safi (Masani' al-sukkar): A-oblique shafts,  B-roller presses, C-paddle wheels, D-nozzle, E-collecting sap basin, F-line of cauldrons, G-conical moulds and molasses jars [Credit: S. Witkin]

One of challenges for Bellwald was to manufacture a framework and divide it into two, with different width.

As usually, working conditions, vandalism and looting of the artefacts present the challenge for any scholar who works in the field.

“Working conditions in Jordan are one of challenges that won’t allow smooth and easy implementation of the schedule,” said a Swiss architect, adding, “We had to improvise, no scaffolding, so we used pallets and blue plastic barrels instead.”

The plan is to reconstruct the entire sugar factory and when the roof is completed, Politis with his team may excavate the sugar factory to the full extent, including installations, Bellwald noted.

“We plan to resurrect more, as we are pending funding from the US Ambassador's Fund, to support a light shelter made of wood and reeds as it was in antiquity,” Politis highlighted.

Author: Saeb Rawashdeh | Source: The Archaeology News Network [September 06, 2019]

Clues to early social structures may be found in ancient extraordinary graves

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 28, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

Elaborate burial sites can provide insight to the development of socio-political hierarchies in early human communities, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by an international team of archaeologists, anthropologists and neuroscientists of the Ba'ja Neolithic Project hosted at the Free University of Berlin in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. The interdisciplinary investigations on the 9000-year-old extraordinary grave studied here gives new evidence on emerging leadership in the first farming villages of the Near East.

Reconstructed virtual E-W-cut through the burial Loc. C10:408, facing south [Credit: Benz et al., 2018]

As early farming communities gave rise to larger, more complex sedentary societies, new social hierarchies arose, presenting opportunities for individual people to achieve positions of importance. The authors cite two archetypal "pathways to power" such individuals might follow: one self-aggrandizing and often autocratic, and the other more group-oriented and egalitarian. But how these "pathways" were expressed in early cultures remains unclear.

This study focused on a single burial in the Ba'ja settlement of southern Jordan, dating between 7,500-6,900 BC, during the Late Pre-Pottery B Period. The elaborate construction of this grave and sophistication of associated symbolic objects suggest the deceased was a person of importance in the ancient society.

The authors suggest that the presence of exotic items in the grave indicate a person who achieved individual prestige by access to trade networks, while the proximity of the grave to other less elaborate graves indicates that they were nonetheless considered close in status to the broader community, not neatly fitting either archetype of a powerful individual.

The authors propose that this sort of data can provide insights into cultural views toward leadership and social hierarchy in early cultures. They also suggest that further investigations of this body and others in Ba'ja, including ancient DNA analysis to illuminate familial relationships, may combine with grave information to create a more refined picture of early community social structures.

The authors add: "We suggest that leadership can be understood only by studying the social contexts and the pathways to power (not only the burials of extraordinary individuals). In fact, studying rich tombs to interpret social structures has been done before, but our new approach emphasizes the social environments of leadership. The key study of the elaborate burial of the late PPNB site of Ba'ja lets us surmise that access to leadership was possible through corporate leadership-type of primus inter pares than by autocratic coercive power."

Source: Public Library of Science [August 28, 2019]

Mudayna excavations point to Moab’s ‘complex’ regional relations

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 21, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

Iron Age imports from Egypt, Cyprus, Phoenicia, Syria and Assyria indicate complex economic and political relations between Moab and the major powers in the region, according to a Canadian scholar.

Khirbat Al Mudayna, located some 48 kilometres south of Amman, is known for its significant Iron Age shrine [Credit: Khirbat Al Mudayna Thamad project]

Moab is the historical name for a mountainous part of land alongside the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archaeological findings, according to historians.

Professor Emerita Michele Daviau, from the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, has worked in Jordan for years, including on Khirbat Al Mudayna, some 48 kilometres south of Amman.

Excavations in Khirbat Al Mudayna began in 1996 under her direction for the Wadi Thamad Project and continue until today.

Her research team found many statues and figurines at the site and tried to interpret them, the scholar noted, adding that figurines and statues reflect the religious practices and beliefs of the inhabitants.

“There are several hundred animal and anthropomorphic figures ranging in size from 3-50 cm,” Daviau elaborated, adding that for the most part, they represent the deities themselves as well as the worshipers, who offer an image of themselves in hopes that they will be remembered by a god.

Aerial view of Khirbat Al Mudayna [Credit: D. Kennedy & R. Bewley/ APAAME]

“At Mudayna, these figurines could have been used in the temple cult as well as in domestic and industrial rituals,” the scholar told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview.

The influences suggested in the iconography are from Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Judah, and Egypt during the late eighth until seventh centuries BC, she continued.

“However, the figurines are all broken so the identification of the origin of these influence is tentative,” Daviau noted.

In addition three free-standing limestone altars and two limestone pegs were found at the site, the scholar said, adding that the pegs remained intact while the altars were broken.

Regarding future plans Daviau said: “We intend to return to Mudayna to complete work at both the north and south ends of the site to better understand the fortifications and the building styles within the settlement.”

Author: Saeb Rawashdeh | Source: The Jordan Times [August 21, 2019]

Iron Age temple ruins near Jordan's Madaba shed light on ancient cult practices

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 15, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

Khirbet Ataruz, located around 30 kilometres southwest of Madaba, represented an early Iron Age II temple with two building phases, according to a US archaeologist.

Main Sanctuary Room of the Ataruz Temple, 9th Century BCE [Credit: C. Ji/Ataruz]

“The temple had the two main phases: Temple Period I corresponds to the late 10th or the beginning of the 9th century BC,” said Chang-ho Ji from La Sierra University.

This earlier temple had a rectangular-shaped building with an altar in the courtyard, Ji continued, adding that a high place appears to have been built on the west side of the site during this period.

However, Temple Period II represents the pinnacle of the cultic activities at the site, Ji said, noting that it covered the early/mid 9th century to mid/late 9th century BC.

Bull Statue from the Central Courtyard at Khirbat Ataruz, 9th century BCE [Credit: J. Park/Ataruz]

“This temple appears to be the one destroyed by King Mesha of Moab [who ruled in 9th century BC],” the scholar told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview.

After the destruction of the temple, the king sealed up the temple and the inner courtyard, the archaeologist elaborated noting that it is unclear whether the temple was Gadite or belonging to some other group, but it seems that it was non-Moabite.

“The destruction layer in the temple is most likely to be the result of Mesha’s conquest of Ataroth [Ataruz],” Ji highlighted, adding that the Moabite sanctuary with the inscribed altar was originally part of the outer courtyard of the Iron Age IIA temple.

Terracotta Incense Burner from the Main Sanctuary at Khirbat Ataruz, 9th century BCE [Credit: J.  Burnett/Ataruz]

Furthermore, after the main temple was destroyed and sealed, the outer courtyard area was reconfigured and changed to a Moabite shrine, the scholar explained.

“The Iron Age IIA temple complex on the acropolis is made up of three long rooms with the main sanctuary room [with two side storage rooms] in the middle, flanked by a hearth [fireplace] room on the west and a platform room on the east. The main sanctuary yielded a standing stone [representing a main deity], stepped offering platform [many cultic objects were found in situ] and a storage jar decorated with seven bull reliefs, which stood upright in the middle of the room, and numerous vessels and cultic objects,” Ji outlined,

The temple was violently destroyed, which left a thick layer of ash. In front of the main temple is the inner courtyard that included five altars, the scholar added.

Bull Storage Jar from the Main Sanctuary, 9th Century BCE [Credit: J. Park/Ataruz]

Moreover, the remains of a rectangular building with a small offering platform were found in the inner courtyard along with a bull statue, Ji noted, adding that at the eastern and western ends of the complex were two stepped high places, “where the priests possibly performed important rituals”.

Regarding stratigraphic (study of soil and rock layers) and pottery evidence, Ji explained: “The pottery from the temple area clearly indicate the 9th century BC for its date, while the pottery from the Moabite sanctuary align with late 9th and early 8th centuries BC.”

C14 data from the temple and sanctuary both very well align with relative chronology based on ceramic evidence, he noted, adding that in other words, the temple complex is dated to the early-mid 9th century BC and was destroyed by King Mesha, which entailed the abandonment of the temple complex area.

Western High Place at Khirbat Ataruz, 9th entury BCE [Credit: J. Park/Ataruz]

“Yet, the eastern section of the ruin [the outer courtyard] was continuously used by the Moabites for cultic and residential purposes and the 8th century BC witnessed the dramatic increase of Moabite use of the site, but this period is more characteristic of domestic use, rather than cultic,” Ji said.

Author: Saeb Rawashdeh | Source: The Jordan Times [August 15, 2019]

Scholar delves into intricacies of early Islamic architecture near Jordan's Karak

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 01, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Jordan, Near East

An intricate mosaic medallion and marble capitals unearthed in a building in Shuqayra Al Gharbiyya, near Karak, speak to the wealth of the building’s original inhabitants, a Jordanian scholar recently told The Jordan Times.

The mosaic floor of Building C, perhaps a reception hall, is typical of  early  Islamic craft traditions. The central  medallion displays a footed vase from which two leafy branches extend. Floral and geometric shapes like these are found throughout the pavement [Credit: WikiCommons]

A team from Mutah University unearthed the building, which was constructed during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, according to Professor Younis Shdaifat.

“The fortified building’s design, its well-preserved mosaic floor and marble architectural features recall the prestigious attributes of early Islamic architecture [built between7th and 9th centuries AD] throughout the Levant in places such as Qasr Al Kharaneh and Khirbat Al Mafjar,” Shdaifat said in an e-mail interview.

Located on a commanding position overlooking Wadi Al Hasa, about 25 kilometres southeast of modern Karak, the site attracted explorers in the 19th and 20th century, continued Shdaifat, adding that according to the local tradition the name Shuqayra in Arabic means “little blond girl”, which is a reference to the nearby red and yellow terra rossa soil.

“Nine seasons of excavation have revealed that the large building was constructed with ashlar limestone blocks,” the Mutah University professor said.

This plan shows the excavated architecture at Shuqayra al-Gharbiyya [Credit: Younis Shdaifat, Near Eastern Archaeology, 2008]

However, an area of the site towards Wadi Al Hasa was of particular interest: “A large room with a well-preserved mosaic floor was partly excavated in area C. Its design and features suggests this room functioned as a reception hall. The room measures 22 metres long and 12 metres wide, and is divided lengthwise into three parts by two rows of columns.”

Furthermore, the mosaic pavement is typical of early Islamic craft traditions, the scholar said, adding that only floral and geometric subjects are portrayed; “animals and humans are completely absent”.

“The central medallion faces south and is adorned with a footed vase from which two leafy branches extend. Surrounding this vase are various fruits such as dates, grapes and pomelos. This pavement is well preserved, and because it is the first mosaic floor to be excavated on the Karak Plateau, its prompt conservation and protection was essential,” he underlined.

Water was an important concern for the building’s inhabitants and evidence for a water harvesting and storage system was found throughout the complex, Shdaifat said, adding that a channel built into the flagstone pavement carried precipitation into what was likely a cistern.

An elaborate marble capital, shown here in situ upside-down, was excavated in the building’s courtyard. The upper half is rectangular and decorated with carved flowers, while the lower half is nearly spheroid and decorated with carved and plaited basket-like patterns [Credit: Younis Shdaifat, Near Eastern Archaeology, 2008]

The discovery of an Umayyad coin as well as an ostracon bearing what appears to be correspondence written in Kufic calligraphy suggest an early Islamic date, Shdaifat underlined, adding that the ceramic vessel also confirms a date of around the 8th century AD.

“The Umayyad-period vessels discovered include domestic forms such as tableware, cooking pots and jars,” he noted, adding that fine ware bowls with pink and red-painted geometric wavy lines were also found.

Moreover, the building’s architectural elements suggest an early Islamic date and reflect the relative wealth of the building’s inhabitants, the professor said, adding that a number of marble cylindrical drums were discovered.

A splendid marble capital was also found while the upper half is rectangular and decorated with carved flowers, and the lower half is nearly spheroid and decorated with carved plaited, basket-like patterns, Shdaifat said.

“Several of Shuqayra Al Gharbiyya’s features are reminiscent of other early Islamic buildings throughout the Levant,” the researcher concluded.

Author: Saeb Rawashdeh | Source: The Jordan Times [August 01, 2019]